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in: Mighty Morphin, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Season 2) episodes, Episode,
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The Mutiny

Revision as of 05:00, 10 February 2018 by Tkgaynor (Message Wall | contribs)
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Icon-mightymorphinThis article is about an episode in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.



"So, poor old Zordon is still around, eh? Little does he realize that his pitiful teenage do-gooders are no match for me."
―Lord Zedd[src]

The Mutiny is a three-part episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and the first storyline of Season 2. This episode features the first appearances of Lord Zedd and the Thunderzords.

Synopsis

Rita Repulsa has been removed from power, and now her master Lord Zedd threatens the Earth with powers unlike anything ever seen before. The Power Rangers must step up their game if they hope to survive against this new enemy.

Plot

Part 1

The Power Rangers have entered themselves in a four-wheeler race to raise money for the charity hospital. As always, Bulk and Skull are present to boast their victory over the heroes, even though Kimberly reminds them that it's a charity race. Mr. Caplan drops the green flag and the race is on. Up in the Moon Palace, Rita Repulsa is getting ready to launch her newest scheme to destroy the Power Rangers, but a sudden lightning storm sends everybody into a panic. Goldar declares that the storm can only mean one thing: the return of the evil Lord Zedd. The lightning storm is also seen on Earth, causing concern among the Rangers as they continue the race.

Goldar heads to a new area of the Moon Palace to meet with Lord Zedd, a fearsome man of exposed muscle and twisted metal who has already turned the room into his personal Chamber of Command. The armored monster is very fast to swear his loyalty to Zedd and is rewarded with the restoration of a pair of wings on his back. Rita then attempts to pledge her own loyalty, but Zedd shows no forgiveness towards her due to her many failures. To prove his superiority, Zedd uses his power to create Z Putty Patrollers, a more ornate and more powerful version of the familiar clay soldiers.

Zordon summons the Power Rangers to the Command Center with distressing news of Lord Zedd's arrival. The wise sage fears that the Rangers' current powers will not be enough to defeat Earth's new menace, but he is unable to do anything about this for the time being. Meanwhile, Zedd has run out of patience with Rita's continued grovelling and makes her staff and powers vanish, then orders her banished from the Moon Palace. As a final insult to injury, Zedd has his Z-Putties bring out a miniature version of Rita's original Space Dumpster and shrinks her to the size of a doll. Goldar enjoys one last laugh at his former master's expense as he seals Rita in the Dumpster so that Zedd can cast it off into deep space. With Rita Repulsa out of the picture, Zedd turns his attention to the Power Rangers.

Back on Earth, Bulk and Skull have crashed their four-wheelers and are attempting to steal the Rangers' own when Z-Putties arrive and send them into a panic. The Rangers morph and arrive to save them, but the new breed of Putty prove tougher for them to handle than Rita's version did, more so when Tommy's Green Ranger powers also start failing him in mid-battle. While Bulk and Skull cheer from nearby, Jason connects with a punch on the Z-emblem of a Putty, causing it to explode. The other Rangers follow suit and soon the entire pack is crumbled to dust. As the heroes return to the Command Center, however, an awestruck Bulk declares to Skull that they have a new goal in life... to reveal the Power Rangers' true identities and become famous.

At the Command Center, the Rangers admit that finding the Putties' weak-point so quickly was dumb luck and realize that if they are that bad to fight, then Zedd's monsters must be even worse. Indeed, Zedd has already retaliated by turning a small piranha into his new monster Pirantishead. Tommy is unable to join the fight due to his weakened powers, and so the other five Rangers head back to action without him. Pirantishead appears in Angel Grove to taunt the Rangers and shows his power by blasting buildings to pieces. The Rangers respond by summoning the Dinozords. However, the fishy fiend uses his powers to freeze almost all of them in place.

Part 2

Although the other Zords are frozen, the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord is still active and the Rangers summon it to take on Pirantishead. However Pirantishead blasts Tyrannosaurus who then attacks the Rangers instead. The Rangers are horrified to find their own Zord has turned against them. After receiving a power boost from Zordon, a recharged Tommy arrives and the others apprise him of the situation. Tommy then summons the Dragonzord to protect them from Tyrannosaurus. The two Zords begin fighting, and are evenly matched with Dragonzord successfully keeping Tyrannosaurus at bay. However Pirantishead then blasts Dragonzord too, and it stops responding to the Dragon Dagger and ends its fight with Tyrannosaurus and instead swipes at the Rangers with its tail.

In the Command Center, Zordon tells Alpha they were fortunate to anticipate Lord Zedd returning and to prepare for 'Phase 2'. Meanwhile, the Rangers are desperately trying to avoid the Tyrannosaurus and Dragonzord's attacks. Tommy attempts to distract the Zords by playing the Dragon Dagger, and the Rangers leap to the top of a nearby building in an effort to reach the Zords controls. It's no use however, as the Dragzonzord blasts the Rangers with its missiles and sends them flying back to the ground. With no other options, the Rangers decide to retreat and consult with Zordon.

Back at the Command Center, Zordon and Alpha 5 tell the Rangers that the Dinozords alone will be no match for Lord Zedd, so new Zords have been developed to balance the playing field against him. They are introduced to the Thunderzords - the Red Dragon Thunderzord, Black Lion Thunderzord, Blue Unicorn Thunderzord, Yellow Griffin Thunderzord, and Pink Firebird Thunderzord. When Kimberly asks about Tommy, Alpha explains that his powers are still too weak and unstable to allow him access to a Thunderzord.

However, the Rangers have one major problem; they must first regain access to the Dinozords before the Thunderzords can be summoned. Unable to come up with any plans, the Rangers fall into a slump until Billy pulls some calculations and suggests that he may be able to make a device that would block the signal controlling the Zords. Trini and Billy head off to work on the device in his lab, but Pirantishead is spotted at the rally and the other Rangers are forced to go down and fight more Z-Putties in order to keep the racers from getting hurt, unaware that they are playing into Zedd's hands.

At the rally, Bulk and Skull have stolen two four-wheelers from the Rangers and are trying to figure out the way to the finish line. Pirantishead suddenly pops up and uses his powers to send the four-wheelers driving backwards, along with their screaming passengers. The fishhead then appears to meet the Rangers as they finish off the Putties and summons the Tyrannosaurus and Dragonzord to destroy their own pilots.

Part 3

Billy and Trini arrive with the device to stop Pirantishead's signal and activate it... to no effect. With the giant robots closing in on them, the Rangers form the Power Blaster and initially aim them at their Zords, but turn and blast Pirantishead at the last second. With him distracted, Billy fixes the device (he had put a battery in backwards) and activates it. At once, the attacking Zords are halted and the rest are unfrozen.

Furious, Lord Zedd uses his magic to sink the Dinozords below the Earth's surface, though Tommy sends the Dragonzord back to slumber in the ocean so as to keep it intact. Zedd then throws a spherical object down to Pirantishead, which explodes like a grenade and makes Pirantishead grow. Back at the Command Center, Alpha reports that he is able to recover enough of the old Dinozords to create the Thunderzords, but Zordon confirms that Tommy's powers are too weak to support a new Zord. Regardless, the Power Rangers summon the Thunderzords into battle, bringing a rare smile to Zordon's face as they come together into the Thunder Megazord.

The battle is joined and Pirantishead makes the first attack by catching the Megazord in his chain weapon, but the Rangers recover and break the chain. With a mighty slash of its Thunder Saber, the Thunder Megazord finishes off Pirantishead and gives Lord Zedd his first taste of defeat. While Zedd rages in his throne room and berates all of his minions, Finster merely looks on from his workshop and mutters that his monsters would have won had Zedd used them instead.

Back at the Command Center, Tommy is informed that the Dragonzord's power is now as limited as his own and must be used sparingly, but the Rangers are confident that they will get their friend back to his full power. As to Rita Repulsa, the Viewing Globe reveals that she's still stuck in her Dumpster and is singing to herself to pass the time. Everybody enjoys a good laugh at Rita's expense (even Zordon!), but they also see that Bulk and Skull are still stuck on their out-of-control four-wheelers.

The Rangers use Billy's device to get the vehicles back to normal, sending Bulk and Skull onto the ground in a heap. As Kimberly and Tommy help them recover, the bullies boast that they're going to expose the Power Rangers for who they really are. The Rangers simply laugh at the notion, but agree to give Bulk and Skull a lift to the finish line.

Episode info

Cast

Notes

  • This is the first appearance of Lord Zedd. His deep voice and menacing personality (especially when compared to Rita) along with his grotesque appearance angered parents; later episodes would tone down his evil nature, with "Rangers Back in Time" and "The Wedding" marking an explicit change in personality for Zedd (making him more lighthearted and humorous) that some fans regarded to be detrimental to his character.
  • Part 1 & 2 mark the last appearance of the original intro and the last time Jason David Frank is credited as "Jason Frank"
  • Carla Perez makes her first appearance as Rita Repulsa for original footage of the character. However, her face is either seen from a distance, the side or covered by her hands.
  • Alpha 5 comically refers to Billy's signal blocker device as food, running on the common joke in television media of robots using metal and occasionally oils as nourishment the same way that food and drink are to humans.
  • This three-parter was originally titled "The Return of Lord Zedd".
  • Lord Zedd is an American creation, as are the new Putties.
  • This was the first story to mix Zyu2 footage with Dairanger footage. Because of this, Pirantishead is never seen in the same shot with Thunder Megazord. Exceptions are when there's an explosion or big cloud of smoke in between Thunder Megazord and the monster.
  • Finster won't make another monster until "Two For One". He also makes his US Footage debut with this one.
  • Lord Zedd restores Goldar's wings, which were said to have been taken away. Rita apparently did so due to a previous failure, but no exact onscreen episode ever depicted it.
  • With this three-parter, Bulk and Skull embark on a season-long subplot of trying to learn the identity of the Power Rangers.
  • Zack mentions Pudgy Pig from last season's "Food Fight" and "A Pig Surprise". Pudgy Pig would later appear in Marvel Comics Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #4, and archive footage in "Lights, Camera, Action".
  • Jason coins the expression "Back to action!" in Part 1.
  • The first time the Rangers go directly to using Zords against a monster without trying to fight it hand-to-hand (presumably to be on the safe side seeing as this was one of Lord Zedd's monsters, who they had not faced yet), and only the second time Zords are (intended to be) used against a human-sized enemy (the first being against the Green Ranger in "Green With Evil").
  • The ending credits for parts 1 & 2 are just the credits rolling over images of the Dinozords. Starting with part 3, they would show the Thunderzords for the rest of the season.
  • Pirantishead's head fins are more flimsier in original footage.
  • The new opening credits for season two debut in the third part. It includes stock footage from Season 1, but also new cast individual shots, the Thunderzords and Lord Zedd.
  • Even though the Rangers have new zords, they still have the same costumes, same weapons and morphing phrases from the previous season. The American series did not upgrade the Ranger costumes by using the Japanese counterpart series, Gosei Sentai Dairanger. Only the zords, monsters and the White Ranger are lifted from Dairanger. The cockpit for the Thunder Megazord is a US creation.
  • Apparently Finster's lab is still intact within Zedd's reconstruction of Rita's palace.
  • Zordon laughs for the first time in the conclusion of this three-parter.
  • In the original Gosei Sentai Dairanger, there is no Black Ranger. Instead, there's a Green Ranger, which is why the Lion Thunderzord has a green face and green lightning appears in front of it during the Thunder Megazords transformation sequence.
  • Part 1 features the first time morphed Rangers don't wear their helmets. Part 2 also features a helmet reappear on a Ranger's head.
  • Shortly before Tommy morphs back into action to fight the Pirantishead in Part 2 his helmet appears on his head with green energy, this would be the only episode this method would be used.
  • The book "Lord Zedd Strikes Back" was based on the three-parter.
  • Final appearance of Ami Kawai as Scorpina, Sabrina Lu would be used as her replacement in original footage in her next and final overall appearance in "Goldar's Vice-Versa".
  • This is the first episode to play the second version of the song Go Green Ranger Go.
  • The song, Ride the Machine plays during the race in Part 1 & 3, and plays again in "Follow that Cab!".
  • Some shots from the original Zyu2 footage go as follows
    • The Triceratops and Sabertooth Tiger Zords can be seen right before the Dragonzord before it battles the Tyrannosaurus Zord, possibly meaning that Pirantishead had originally intented to control all the zords, not just the Tyrannosaurus and Dragonzord.
    • During the zord fight, Dragonzord ends up under Pirantishead's control again. It's unknown how this is possible since the comunication between Pirantishead and the zords should be blocked. Dragonzord was likely edited out due to too much interaction with the original Megazord.
  • The first episode, since "Return of an Old Friend Part 2", to have Tommy weakening by his power loss.
  • Part 1 is the final episode to use Zyuranger stock footage of the looming thunderstorm.
  • The Dinozord to Thunderzord transformation uses the deluxe toys.
  • The three parts of this episode aired in prime time, something very unusual for children's television. This was likely done because the series popularity was at its peak.
  • This is also the first time in which Billy is seen without his glasses.
  • Scorpina's last role before this episode was season 1's "Return of an Old Friend Part II". This episode was also the first of the two episodes of season 2 (the other being "Goldar's Vice-Versa") that Scorpina appeared in.

Errors

  • Original footage of Rita and her henchman standing on the Moon Palace's balcony during Lord Zedd's arrival is actually the balcony in Lord Zedd's part of the palace, and not Rita's balcony. This is very surprising since a U.S version of Rita's balcony was already used for the U.S Goldar balcony shots in season 1. This error also occurs when a very tiny Rita walks on her old balcony on her way to Finster's nearby workshop in "The Wedding Part 1" and when she is waiting with Squatt and Baboo for The Wedding March to begin in "The Wedding Part 3". The only way to tell Rita's balcony from Zedd's balcony in Season 2 is by the complete lack of mist in the former.
  • Zedd creates Pirantishead from a piranha (from what is assumed to be in Angel Grove), but those type of fish are native to South America.
  • Pirantishead freezes the Dinozords, but Pterodactyl Dinozord should fall to the ground upon being frozen rather than being suspended in midair.
  • The Sabretooth Tiger Dinozord is frozen while in the midst of the Megazord transformation, even though the Rangers didn't initiate/call for the Megazord transformation.
  • The Zords are very big. So why didn't the bystanders notice these huge robots before riding their bikes into their direction? Dragonzord's missiles and Tyrannosaurus' breath attack would have surely killed these people, but all it did was blow up some ground.
  • In Part III, Zordon refers to the new Megazord formation as the "Mega Thunderzord," even though he called it the "Thunder Megazord" (its official title) in just the previous episode when introducing the new Zords to the Rangers.
  • Red Ranger's Power Sword appears while Dragonzord runs amok on the city, but then disappears quickly in the next shot.
  • The Griffin Thunderzord does not look much like a griffin. It does not have an eagle's head; it looks more like a dragon with a backward-facing horn (which is much larger than the Unicorn Thunderzord's forward-facing horn).
  • The Lion Thunderzord has two extra rear legs during the transformation of it from the Mastadon.
  • Black Ranger's Power Axe appears to be missing some components from its design during the Power Blaster scene.
  • As Billy switches the upside down battery, some skin can be seen under his right glove.
  • When the Tyrannosaurus and Dragonzord nearly step on the Rangers before being released from Pirantishead's spell, the shadows on the ground clearly show two people holding the feet in order to create the forced perspective of the shot.
  • In the second-to-last shot of Part II, the misty white aura surrounding the Tyrannosaurus and Dragonzord was missing.
  • During the battle sequence between Pirantishead and the Thunder Megazord, during the explosions you can see parts of the original Megazord. This is due to the use of Zyu2 footage.
  • After Pirantishead is destroyed and Zedd becomes highly infuriated, Finster mutters under his breath that if he had used one of his monsters, he would have prevailed. However, he was in no position to say or even think this since every monster he had ever made previously had been destroyed by the Power Rangers.
  • Despite the fact that the Dinozords have had an emergency system that teleported them back to their hiding places if they were too badly damaged ever since "Doomsday," as stated by Billy in that episode, it seemed to be inactive in this episode for some reason when Lord Zedd tries to destroy them after they are freed from Pirantishead's control, so Zordon and Alpha had to work fast to save them and recharge them in another way.
  • It is strange how Bulk and Skull's ATVs were still under the influence of Pirantishead's spell after he was destroyed, despite that fact that usually after a monster is destroyed, their essences/effects on other people or objects are broken.

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